Ecological excursions are available for visitors in Polistovsky Reserve. All of them provide opportunities to explore wild nature and learn about the Reserve's natural ecosystems.Visiting the Reserve is possible only with a guide and in compliance with the rules and regulations. After the excursions you can rest in comfortable guest house, taste herbal tea and traditional pies or order traditional Russian dinner prepared by local people in Tsevlo village, and buy souvenirs with the Reserve's logo. We are looking forward to your visit!

Tourist map of Polistovsky Reserve

On the tourist map of Polistovsky Reserve you cn find boundaries of the Reserve, its buffer zone and nature monument ''Lake Polisto'', main settlements, ecological routes of the Reserve, as well as the location of Polistovsky Reserve tourist and other infrastructure.

The main goal of this trail is to introduce visitors to the variety of bogs in our Reserve. The ecological route "Plavnitskoe Bog" is a trip along the edge of one of the largest in Europe Polistovo-Lovatskaya raised bog system. The trail is equipped with wooden decking throughout the route and does not require any special training. Visiting "Plavnitskoe Bog" route is accompanied by a guide who will show and tell a lot of interesting things. Tourists are delivered to the beginning of the route by the off-road vehicles.

The tourist route passes through various types of wetlands - fens, transitional and raised bog, then it goes to mineral islands, and through black alders thickets, wich were called Russian mangroves, and crosses the picturesque valley of the Plavnica River, a favorite nesting place for many aquatic birds.

The path is laid over sphagnum mosses, which cover a bog with a multicolored carpet - you can enjoy their endless expanse from a nine-meter observation tower located on one of the islands. One of the features of sphagnum mosses is the ability to disinfect water. Drinking water from the bog - is a part of the health-improving program of the route. It also includes calming relaxation on the bogbean swamp, where a thin, but strong grass carpet covering the abyss, sway under the feet.

The hiking route with the length of 4.7 kilometers passes through the buffer zone of the Reserve. Tourists are delivered to the beginning of the way by off-road vehicles. The route, partially equipped with wooden decking, passes through the places where villages and settlements once stood. The residents of the remote boggy area were called "mossmen", hence the name of the route was born.

Throughout the route, visitors can reveal the pages of history of the settlements, look at the remains of the farm buildings, a pond, a garden and roads. At the same time, today one can observe how nature is gradually recovering after human activity: the arable lands turn into meadows; the mowings are overgrowing with birch, aspen and alder, farms - with nettles; linden groves replace the villages.

Also, a visit to the trail includes acquaintance of tourists with rare and unusual forest plants, a river turned back, a giant stone that appeared here in the last glacial period, traces of wild animals.

The route connects several water bodies and runs through the nature monument of regional significance "Lake Polisto". Here you can go through a part of the long way that every drop of the Polistovsky rains overcomes from the bog to the ocean, and learn about the amazing power of water that creates an unique look of the world of rivers, lakes and bogs.

During the route you can observe birds that nest, grow chicks and feed on the banks and in river floods. You can see such rare species as the osprey, the black stork, the white-tailed eagle and others.

A part of the route passes through a canal - a narrow green corridor - and through the forest, knee-deep in the water, where the boat floats at the level of ferns, the wave sways willow thickets, and the branches of alder growing along the banks almost close above the water.

Tourists can arrange a small picnic on the sandy river bank, during which they can continue to watch birds frolicking over the water, if they wish.

The route passes through the meadows and forests of the buffer zone of the Reserve. It is dedicated to one of the inhabitants of the protected fauna - the beaver. Tourists are delivered to the beginning of the way by off-road vehicles.

Beaver is an ancient inhabitant of the Polistovsky lands. He is a skilful builder and a nimble swimmer. The beaver is able to built a solid multi-storey house with several compartments, change the riverbed, build a large and strong dam that easily withstands the weight of a man! His amazing abilities were admired by different peoples at all times. Small rivers and creeks of Polistovsky area abound with engineering constructions of beavers.

On the route "By the beavr's path" you can see how beavers live in the wildwith your own eyes, and also look at the tracks left by other inhabitants of these places - moose, boars and bears.

The Snowshoe Walk

Location - Tsevlo village (35 km from Bezhanitsy where the visitor center and reserve's headquarters are located), Gogolvo village (65 km from Bezhanitsy)Length - from 1 to 12 kilometersSeason - all the yearPrice (for a group) - 2000 rub (30 euro)Group size - from 2 to 12Duration - from 2 to 6 hours

Bogshoes are an indispensable for a traveler through wild, deserted bogs. The Snowshoe Walk is a route for those who love marshes and wildlife. It's a possibility to feel alone within the huge Polistovo-Lovatskaya bog system, away from all people, roads and civilization.

The length of the routes varies from 2 to 12 kilometers and is determined by the willingness and capacity of visitor. Tourists are delivered to the beginning of the way by off-road vehicles.

In the Summer

Bogshoe walk is almost an extreme route. Tourists are invited to stroll through the territory of the wild, boundless Polistovsky bogs accompanied by the guide of the Reserve. Here you can literally feel what the lack of soil under your feet is, go to the mineral island in the middle of the bog and even reach the reserved lake without shores. The temperature in the bog is always a little higher than in the surounding area, which must be taken into account when planning the route.

In the Autumn

In the autumn, the bog is changing, changes colors, says goodbye to spring with a part of its inhabitants. During the excursion you can see scarlet cranberry, golden aspen groves on the islands, and fully experience the atmosphere of light autumn sadness and the passing of summer on the brown bog vastness under the high blue sky. Observe the birds flying south.

In the Winter

In winter the boggy world looks like a fairy-tale country and holds many miracles. An evergreen cover of a bog with scarlet icy drops of cranberries lies under a thin layer of white snow and frost. On the snow, you can read the "letters" of Polistovsky inhabitants - a thoughtful moose has passed here, a little hare has run there, and there is a hole in ice on the stream - an otter emerged from it and left a thin chain of tracks on the shore ... If you're lucky, you can even see the holes in the snow, where the willow ptarmigans spent nights, and see the flying black grouses.

When a stable snow cover forms on the bog, guests of the Reserve have an opportunity to visit winter fairy tale and see the most interesting corners of Polistovsky, which are difficult to reach in the summer.

Snowmobile route shows tourists picturesque winter landscapes - forests, wrapped in snow shawls, plains of snow-white fields and bogs and even bog islands, once inhabited by people, and now completely passed into the wild nature.

On the way the guide tells tourists about the nature and history of the bog, as well as the scientific work of the Reserve. There are bizarre dwarf pines covered with hoarfrost, and other bog plants, animal tracks and their winter shelters on the route.

The Cranberry Tour

Location - Tsevlo village (35 km from Bezhanitsy where the visitor center and reserve's headquarters are located)Length - from 2 to 4 kilometersSeason - from the second part of September to NovemberPrice (for a group) - 1400 rub (20 euro) for the Reserve's services + 200 rub (3 euro) for the cooking master classGroup size - from 2 to 12

The tour is designed to acquaint tourists with the cultural traditions of the region, natural heritage, folk crafts. It is held in the village of Tsevlo or Gogolevo, depending on the wish of the visitors. The tour program is designed for the whole day and contains the following activities:

• Visit to an unprotected bog to collect cranberries - on the way and at the bog the guide will tell you about the local traditions of collecting berries, about the legends associated with it, about how to harvest cranberries properly, where and when to look for it. Tourists are delivered to the place of cranberry collecting by off-road vehicles.

• Culinary master class - cooking traditional local dishes from the collected cranberries under the guidance of a local resident, with jokes, stories and tea.

For a tour booking call:

+7(81141) 223 91

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